Who said what - top 5 expert reactions to Nitish Kumar Reddy's superb century in BGT 2024-25 4th Test ft. Ravi Shastri

Nitish Kumar Reddy's unbeaten century (105) was the highlight of Day 3 of the Boxing Day Test between India and Australia. The capacity crowd at the MCG witnessed a fighting knock from the Indian all-rounder.

Batting at number eight, Reddy arrived on the crease with India having lost six wickets for just 191 runs. He added 30 runs with Ravindra Jadeja before the latter perished.

The fast-bowling all-rounder, as he has done often in his debut series, rescued the Indian team who, at one stage were under the threat of following on and conceding a big lead in the first innings. He added 127 runs for the eighth wicket with Washington Sundar.

Reddy displayed controlled aggression when he was on the crease. His knock of 105 included 10 boundaries and a maximum. He brought on his maiden Test century in fading light towards the fag end of day three with Mohammed Siraj giving him company.

On that note, here is a look at top five expert reactions on Reddy's superb century at the MCG:

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#1 Parthiv Patel

The former Indian wicket-keeper batsman heaped praise on Nitish Reddy for his brilliant century. Patel commended Reddy for his game awareness at a young age of 22.

He said on on Cricbuzz Chatter:

"Reddy showed lot of promise batting at number eight. He got off to many starts in the previous Tests. However, to score a 100 in a Boxing Day Test is an incredible achievement."

He further stated:

"This Test and series will be remembered as Nitest Kumar Reddy's series. He is the find of the series. Nitesh Reddy has lived up to the expectation of the selectors who fast tracked him in Test cricket."

For the record, Reddy is the highest run-getter for India in BGT 2024-2025 and the second highest across both team behind Travis Head.

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#2 MSK Prasad

The former Indian keeper-batter is also from Andhra Pradesh. Reddy's century at the MCG earned him praise from the former BCCI chief selector. Prasad was on commentary duty on Star Sports when he said via (Sports Info):

"We groomed him systematically. He scored 1200 runs in a season and 400 runs one innings in the U-16 cricket. This age group is the entry point in Indian domestic cricket. He was a batter, who could bowl when he started playing cricket."

He further added:

"Nitish then worked on his bowling and he now contributes as an all-rounder. He has been magnificent for India against Australia and will improve further."

Apart from his heroics with the bat, Reddy has picked up three wickets in the ongoing BGT series.

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#3 Ravi Shastri

The former Indian coach was on air the moment Reddy bagged his maiden Test century. Shastri,was on Hindi commentary duty and captured the iconic moment brilliantly.

He stated:

"Yeh aankon mein aansoo wala 100 hai, sirf pitaji ka nahi mere khyal pura crowd jo yahan pe hai sabke aankh mein aansu honge. (This is a tearful moment, not just for his Dad, but I believe everyone in the crowd here will have tears in their eyes)."

Nitish Kumar Reddy's father had tears of joy in his eyes when his son scored a century.

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#4 Aakash Chopra

Aakash Chopra was full of praise for Reddy on his YouTube channel. He said NKR was a superstar, adding he had kept India in the contest.

He said:

"Batting at eight and scoring a century was special. He is only 21 years of age and the selection is an inspired one. The team believed that NTR has it in him to make it big. Reddy has made his place in the team."

He further added:

"The authority, determination and technique was solid . The innings had everything."

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#5 Sanjay Manjrekar

The cricketer turned commentator was pleasantly surprised by Reddy's knock in Melbourne. During a discussion on Star Sports, Manjrekar said:

"I have been doing this commentary job for a long time. I have also played on the ground but I have never seen anything like this where we didn't have any warning that he is such a good batter. Many people have scored hundreds by swinging their bats."

He further observed:

"He has scored runs in every match but they were forties. His first-class average was 22 and he had never gone to Australia. There was a lot of batting depth in this hundred. He has such a wide range in his batting, but we didn't get any trailer or teaser for it."

Reddy has indeed taken the cricket world by storm and has impressed one and all with his exceptional batting skills Down Under.